I wonder if the Press Herald editorial page staff and columnists, especially Cynthia Dill and Bill Nemitz, have actually read the tax bills presented by the House of Representatives and the Senate. Or is this simply parroting the example set by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who admits she has not read the legislation but still calls for outright rejection? This, of course, is the flip side to Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s advice a few years ago that we would not know exactly what was in the Affordable Care Act until it was passed.

It is way past time that our legislative representatives and the media move beyond “The Party” and begin to do their job. The public needs a responsible evaluation of all legislation with a proper weighing of the positives and the negatives, not simply cherry-picking. Over the past year, what counterproposals have the Democrats presented to proposals raised by Republicans in Congress, other than “no”?

The Democrats are not totally to blame. The Republicans share equally, but let the genuine debates begin. Both sides of the aisle should recognize and react to the fact that the approval rating for Congress, collectively and by party affiliation, is and has been in the teens for quite some time and below the president’s rating. After all, it is the failure of our government to work “for the people” – instead, working for the party – that has ushered Donald Trump into the White House.

Michael A. Smith

Wells